Five Strategies for a Winning Sales Presentation
Business Consulting for Women Entrepreneurs
1. Listen before pitching. One of the mistakes business owners make is talking too much about the wonders of their company,
instead of asking questions and listening to a potential customer's needs. Your prospect probably did some research about you beforehand anyway, so don't waste precious minutes going on about your qualifications. "Nothing is more annoying than when someone is pitching you, and it's all about them, their products," says Jared Reitzin, founder of mobileStorm, a Los Angeles-based provider of Web-based email and mobile and social communication platforms.
2. Put in more prep time. No matter how good you are at thinking on your feet, don't wing the presentation. You'll risk jumping all over the place without a logical flow, says Terri Sjodin, founder of Sjodin Communications, a sales training and consulting firm in Newport Beach, Calif. Take the time to prepare and to practice from an outline, making sure your presentation covers all your points clearly and concisely, suggests Sjodin, who is also the author of Small Message, Big Impact (Greenleaf Book Group Press, 2011).
3. Liven it up. Many professionals don't realize just how boring their presentations are--too many facts, a flat monotone, tired stories. "Sometimes professionals have been giving the same presentation for so long they just slip into autopilot," Sjodin says. "In today's competitive market, your presentations must be entertaining in order to obtain and maintain the attention of prospects."
4. Don't use visual aids as a crutch. If brochures, handouts or slides could sell a product or service on their own, companies would not need salespeople. "Depending too much on visual aids can give us a false sense of security," Siodin says. "We tend to think it isn't necessary to prepare thoroughly because our props will lead us right through the presentation. We let the visual aid become the star and virtually run the show."
5. Be ready to take the next step. Not every presentation is going to end with a sale, so it's up to you to establish the next step in the process. Zak Dabbas, cofounder and managing partner of Punchkick Interactive Inc., a Chicago-based mobile marketing firm, says one of his biggest mistakes early in his career was concluding meetings with a "we hope to talk again soon" mentality.
Source: Entrepreneur
Patty Block, President and Founder of The Block Group, established her company to advocate for women-owned businesses, helping them position their companies for strategic growth. Charting the course for impactful, sustainable, profitable businesses, the beacon is control: of your strategic direction, your money, your time, your staffing, and your ability to bring in business. The Block Group brings together the people, resources and ideas that build results.
Business consulting for women entrepreneurs in Houston.
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